Jelling Runestone (replica). Erected by King Harald Bluethooth at Jelling in Jutland, Denmark, 960-980 AD. This honors his parents who made the Danes Christian. (MPR Photo/Eugene Cha)

St. Paul, Minn. —
A new exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota displays the history and significance of something that happened about 1,000 years ago. It was then that the Vikings of northern Europe landed their ships on North American soil. The exhibit has been touring the country for more than two years. Morning Edition's Eugene Cha got an early peak at the exhibit, and met with Dr. Bill Fitzhugh, director of the Arctic Study Center at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Dr. Fitzhugh says the exhibit traces the Vikings' travels to the New World, which they called Vineland, across the North Atlantic seas.